The Wandering Albatross is a large seabird that origiates from the family Diomedeidae, and is in the genus Diomedea, or the Great Albatross family. It was often confused with the Tristan Albatross and the Antipoden Albatross as belonging to the same species, some authors still consider them as the same species. The Wandering Albatross is one of the largest living birds in the world, with the largest wingspan of any living bird at a wingspan of about 3.5m (12 ft). The Wandering Albatross is currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, with pollution, such as plastics and fishing hooks presenting a sizable threat to the population.
Scientific Classification Table
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Procellariiformes
Family
Diomedeidae
Genus
Diomedea
Species
D. Exulans
Habitat and Range
The Wandering Albatross is mainly seen flying over the southern oceans, they have several year-round colonies at islands in the Antarctic Ocean. They regularly breed in South Georgia, Prince Edward islands, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands and Macquarie Islands. Their habitat is mainly in open vegetation and near exposed ridges. The total amount of breeding pairs is about 8,500, which is equivalent to about 28,000 mature individuals of Wandering Albatrosses. The population of Wandering Albatrosses has generally shown a decreasing trend in recent years, with South Georgian Islands breeding population declining by 4% per year as of 2006 and the breeding population in the Crozet Islands also show decline. The Wandering Albatross has a wide range, due to its large wings and the ability to fly for long distances, it can be found in all southern oceans, but it is rarely seen northward of latitiude 30° South and south of latitude 60° South.
The islands that the Wandering Albatross has established colonies in are all very inhospitable and remote places, in the South Georgian Islands, one of the largest colonies of Wandering Albatrosses, temperatures rarely go above Melting Point even at summertime. It shares habitats with many other species of sea birds, such as the Skua, Storm Petrel, and many species of penguins. On breeding islands, nests of Wandering Albatrosses are located in coastal or inland ridges, slopes and plains, and often are found loosely on the West (Windward) side of the islands, the Wandering Albatross requires nesting areas near open ridges in order for it to be able to take off.
The harsh climate and remote environment suits the Wandering Albatross, because that means that historically, the Wandering Albatross has had little, if any, fear of predators being a significant threat near their colonies. When pests, such as cats, mice, and rats were introduced to the breeding grounds of the Wandering Albatross (and most sea birds in general), they devastated the population by attacking the Wandering Albatrosses and eating the chicks and eggs of the Albatrosses. This is because the long time frame of isolation that the Wandering Albatross had meant it didn't develop any features to help it in Self-Defense. The South Georgian islands are also known as the habitat of some Leopard Seals, which have been known to consume sea birds in this habitat, this may very well include Wandering Albatrosses.
The Wandering Albatross is carnivorous, its main diet consists of cephalopods, e.g squid, cuttlefish, small fish, and crustaceans such as shrimp and prawn, and sometimes, they also eat animal refuse that is floating at sea, their flying range and sensitive smell giving them a high chance of detecting prey. They mainly hunt at night and can make shallow dives, up to 2 - 5 meters in depth, in order to catch their prey. Recently, there has also been reports of Wandering Albatrosses following fishing boats, feeding aggressively on the offal and actively diving for the fishing baits, however, this makes the Wandering Albatross very vulnerable to being drowned by long-line fishing gear, becoming the main contributor to decreasing population to the Wandering Albatross. The Wandering Albatross also has a tendency to eat excessively to the point that they cannot fly and can only float on the water helplessly, which may make them a target for underwater predators such as Sharks and Dolphins.
Figure 2: Range of Wandering Albatross (marked in red)
Adaptations for the Animals Survival
Structural Adaptation 1:
The Wandering Albatross possesses many structural adaptations in order to survive. Over the years, it has developed very large and specialised wings, that had evolved in order to help the animal fly for longer distances with greater efficiency. In all albatrosses, the wings can be locked into place by a shoulder-lock, which allows the wings to be kept outstretched without using any energy from the animal. The wings also have a thickened and streamlined leading edge, in order to reduce any potential frictional drag that will reduce efficiency. As a result of this structural adaptation, the Wandering Albatross can make use of the prevailing wind currents and updrafts to fly over the ocean for days on end with minimal energy consumption, essential for the Albatross to survive as a long range forager out in the ocean, where food is scarce and hard to find.
Structural Adaptation 2:
Another structural adaptation that the wandering albatross possesses is it has two long tubes along the side of its bill acting as nostrils, a unique feature only found in the albatross, they give the albatrosses an acute sense of smell, which is unusual among birds. They use the acute sense of smell in order to locate any food sources in the open ocean from many miles away, a crucial aspect in order for the wandering albatross to survive. As the foraging area of the Wandering Albatross ranges for hundreds of miles, relying on sight to locate potential prey in the water would be disastrous, as food sources are often many miles away. One environmental pressure for the structural adaptation to evolve was the fact that fish shoals and squid, the albatrosses main food source, are often far away from each other, and those with better smell had more chance of getting food, over time, only the albatrosses with the best smell survived.
Behavioral Adaptation 1:
In addition to the structual adaptations, the wandering Albatross also has developed many behavioral adaptations to aid the species survival. It has been discovered that as wandering albatrosses age and grow older, they start to forage in different waters than when they were younger. This difference was most prevalent between Older males and younger males, the older males made longer foraging trips, over 3000km from their nest during the incubation period, while younger birds stay closer to the nests. This means that the wandering albatrosses won't be in competition for the same feeding area, increasing the chances that the foraging trips will be successful. The environmental pressure that may have caused this to happen was that there is not enough food for all the Wandering Albatrosses to feed in the same patch of sea, so the older Wandering Albatrosses, with more experience, would go farther off to find food, while younger Wandering Albatrosses would stay closer to the nests to gain experience foraging.
Behavioral Adaptation 2:
A behavioral adaptation that the Wandering Albatross possesses is that it has a relatively slow development into maturity, a Wandering Albatross takes up to 9 years to reach sexual maturity and wouldn't mate until several years later, they consequently live very long lives, with many surviving for upwards of 50 years. Wandering albatrosses take over a year to raise their chicks from laying to fledging, a long time for any bird to do so. The Wandering Albatross only breeds once every other year, laying one egg at a time. They put more effort into fewer offspring than other birds, an adaptation to the stable environment and the limited amount of resources in the open sea. One environmental pressure that may have given rise to this was a sudden food shortage in the open water. The albatrosses who had fewer offspring will be able to focus on providing food for them, while those with more offspring would find it difficult to provide enough food for each of them, which may lead to the chicks deaths.
Physiological Adaptation:
One unique physiological adaptation that the Wandering Albatross possesses is its ability to produce stomach oil, an energy-rich food that is secreted by a special stomach organ known as the proventiculus. It functions as an energy store for the animal, as it has an extremely high energy density, a lot more energy can be stored in this oil form than it can be in undigested prey. This gives the Wandering Albatross a huge advantage, as they cover large distances to provide food for their chicks, they can store relatively more food to feed the chicks in a given time period. It also acts as a energy store for the bird when times are tough. One environmental pressure may have been that there was not enough space to hold prey inside the albatrosses body in order to feed the chicks once the Albatross has eaten its fill, so it had to develop a system to store food and feed chicks without taking any more space inside the animal.
Links Ancestor to Wandering Albatross Evolution to Wandering Albatross References
Robertson, C.J.R. (1993). "Survival and longevity of the Northern Royal Albatross Diomedea epomophora sanfordi at Taiaroa Head" 1937–93.Emu93: 269–276.
CNRS (Délégation Paris Michel-Ange) (2010, April 2). Wandering albatross: Is foraging efficiency a key parameter in aging?.ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 6, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100324184606.htm
Lequette, B., Verheyden, C., Jowentin, P. (1989) "Olfaction in Subantarctic seabirds: Its phylogenetic and ecological significance" The Condor91: 732-135. http://www.thewonderofbirds.com/albatross/wingspan.htmhttp://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/144899/0 Hastings, Chris (7 March 2010). "South Georgia to poison millions of rats". Times Online. Retrieved 8 March 2010. Harrison, Colin; Greensmith, Alan (1993). "Non-Passerines". in Bunting, Edward. Birds of the World (First ed.). New York, NY: Dorling Kindersley. p. 48. ISBN1 56458 295 7. Gotch, A. F. (1995) [1979]. "Albatrosses, Fulmars, Shearwaters, and Petrels". Latin Names Explained. A Guide to the Scientific Classifications of Reptiles, Birds & Mammals. New York, NY: Facts on File. p. 190. ISBN0 8160 3377 3. Walker, T.R., Boyd, I.L., Mccafferty, D.J., Huin, N., Taylor, R.I., Reid, K. (1998) Seasonal occurrence and diet of leopard seals, Hydrurga leptonyx at Bird Island, South Georgia. Antarctic Science. 10(1): 75-81.
Introduction
The Wandering Albatross is a large seabird that origiates from the family Diomedeidae, and is in the genus Diomedea, or the Great Albatross family. It was often confused with the Tristan Albatross and the Antipoden Albatross as belonging to the same species, some authors still consider them as the same species. The Wandering Albatross is one of the largest living birds in the world, with the largest wingspan of any living bird at a wingspan of about 3.5m (12 ft). The Wandering Albatross is currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, with pollution, such as plastics and fishing hooks presenting a sizable threat to the population.
Scientific Classification Table
The Wandering Albatross is mainly seen flying over the southern oceans, they have several year-round colonies at islands in the Antarctic Ocean. They regularly breed in South Georgia, Prince Edward islands, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands and Macquarie Islands. Their habitat is mainly in open vegetation and near exposed ridges. The total amount of breeding pairs is about 8,500, which is equivalent to about 28,000 mature individuals of Wandering Albatrosses. The population of Wandering Albatrosses has generally shown a decreasing trend in recent years, with South Georgian Islands breeding population declining by 4% per year as of 2006 and the breeding population in the Crozet Islands also show decline. The Wandering Albatross has a wide range, due to its large wings and the ability to fly for long distances, it can be found in all southern oceans, but it is rarely seen northward of latitiude 30° South and south of latitude 60° South.
The islands that the Wandering Albatross has established colonies in are all very inhospitable and remote places, in the South Georgian Islands, one of the largest colonies of Wandering Albatrosses, temperatures rarely go above Melting Point even at summertime. It shares habitats with many other species of sea birds, such as the Skua, Storm Petrel, and many species of penguins. On breeding islands, nests of Wandering Albatrosses are located in coastal or inland ridges, slopes and plains, and often are found loosely on the West (Windward) side of the islands, the Wandering Albatross requires nesting areas near open ridges in order for it to be able to take off.
The harsh climate and remote environment suits the Wandering Albatross, because that means that historically, the Wandering Albatross has had little, if any, fear of predators being a significant threat near their colonies. When pests, such as cats, mice, and rats were introduced to the breeding grounds of the Wandering Albatross (and most sea birds in general), they devastated the population by attacking the Wandering Albatrosses and eating the chicks and eggs of the Albatrosses. This is because the long time frame of isolation that the Wandering Albatross had meant it didn't develop any features to help it in Self-Defense. The South Georgian islands are also known as the habitat of some Leopard Seals, which have been known to consume sea birds in this habitat, this may very well include Wandering Albatrosses.
The Wandering Albatross is carnivorous, its main diet consists of cephalopods, e.g squid, cuttlefish, small fish, and crustaceans such as shrimp and prawn, and sometimes, they also eat animal refuse that is floating at sea, their flying range and sensitive smell giving them a high chance of detecting prey. They mainly hunt at night and can make shallow dives, up to 2 - 5 meters in depth, in order to catch their prey. Recently, there has also been reports of Wandering Albatrosses following fishing boats, feeding aggressively on the offal and actively diving for the fishing baits, however, this makes the Wandering Albatross very vulnerable to being drowned by long-line fishing gear, becoming the main contributor to decreasing population to the Wandering Albatross. The Wandering Albatross also has a tendency to eat excessively to the point that they cannot fly and can only float on the water helplessly, which may make them a target for underwater predators such as Sharks and Dolphins.
Adaptations for the Animals Survival
Structural Adaptation 1:
The Wandering Albatross possesses many structural adaptations in order to survive. Over the years, it has developed very large and specialised wings, that had evolved in order to help the animal fly for longer distances with greater efficiency. In all albatrosses, the wings can be locked into place by a shoulder-lock, which allows the wings to be kept outstretched without using any energy from the animal. The wings also have a thickened and streamlined leading edge, in order to reduce any potential frictional drag that will reduce efficiency. As a result of this structural adaptation, the Wandering Albatross can make use of the prevailing wind currents and updrafts to fly over the ocean for days on end with minimal energy consumption, essential for the Albatross to survive as a long range forager out in the ocean, where food is scarce and hard to find.
Structural Adaptation 2:
Another structural adaptation that the wandering albatross possesses is it has two long tubes along the side of its bill acting as nostrils, a unique feature only found in the albatross, they give the albatrosses an acute sense of smell, which is unusual among birds. They use the acute sense of smell in order to locate any food sources in the open ocean from many miles away, a crucial aspect in order for the wandering albatross to survive. As the foraging area of the Wandering Albatross ranges for hundreds of miles, relying on sight to locate potential prey in the water would be disastrous, as food sources are often many miles away. One environmental pressure for the structural adaptation to evolve was the fact that fish shoals and squid, the albatrosses main food source, are often far away from each other, and those with better smell had more chance of getting food, over time, only the albatrosses with the best smell survived.
Behavioral Adaptation 1:
In addition to the structual adaptations, the wandering Albatross also has developed many behavioral adaptations to aid the species survival. It has been discovered that as wandering albatrosses age and grow older, they start to forage in different waters than when they were younger. This difference was most prevalent between Older males and younger males, the older males made longer foraging trips, over 3000km from their nest during the incubation period, while younger birds stay closer to the nests. This means that the wandering albatrosses won't be in competition for the same feeding area, increasing the chances that the foraging trips will be successful. The environmental pressure that may have caused this to happen was that there is not enough food for all the Wandering Albatrosses to feed in the same patch of sea, so the older Wandering Albatrosses, with more experience, would go farther off to find food, while younger Wandering Albatrosses would stay closer to the nests to gain experience foraging.
Behavioral Adaptation 2:
A behavioral adaptation that the Wandering Albatross possesses is that it has a relatively slow development into maturity, a Wandering Albatross takes up to 9 years to reach sexual maturity and wouldn't mate until several years later, they consequently live very long lives, with many surviving for upwards of 50 years. Wandering albatrosses take over a year to raise their chicks from laying to fledging, a long time for any bird to do so. The Wandering Albatross only breeds once every other year, laying one egg at a time. They put more effort into fewer offspring than other birds, an adaptation to the stable environment and the limited amount of resources in the open sea. One environmental pressure that may have given rise to this was a sudden food shortage in the open water. The albatrosses who had fewer offspring will be able to focus on providing food for them, while those with more offspring would find it difficult to provide enough food for each of them, which may lead to the chicks deaths.
Physiological Adaptation:
One unique physiological adaptation that the Wandering Albatross possesses is its ability to produce stomach oil, an energy-rich food that is secreted by a special stomach organ known as the proventiculus. It functions as an energy store for the animal, as it has an extremely high energy density, a lot more energy can be stored in this oil form than it can be in undigested prey. This gives the Wandering Albatross a huge advantage, as they cover large distances to provide food for their chicks, they can store relatively more food to feed the chicks in a given time period. It also acts as a energy store for the bird when times are tough. One environmental pressure may have been that there was not enough space to hold prey inside the albatrosses body in order to feed the chicks once the Albatross has eaten its fill, so it had to develop a system to store food and feed chicks without taking any more space inside the animal.
Links
Ancestor to Wandering Albatross
Evolution to Wandering Albatross
References
Robertson, C.J.R. (1993). "Survival and longevity of the Northern Royal Albatross Diomedea epomophora sanfordi at Taiaroa Head" 1937–93.Emu 93: 269–276.
CNRS (Délégation Paris Michel-Ange) (2010, April 2). Wandering albatross: Is foraging efficiency a key parameter in aging?.ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 6, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100324184606.htm
Lequette, B., Verheyden, C., Jowentin, P. (1989) "Olfaction in Subantarctic seabirds: Its phylogenetic and ecological significance" The Condor91: 732-135.
http://www.thewonderofbirds.com/albatross/wingspan.htmhttp://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/144899/0
Hastings, Chris (7 March 2010). "South Georgia to poison millions of rats". Times Online. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
Harrison, Colin; Greensmith, Alan (1993). "Non-Passerines". in Bunting, Edward. Birds of the World (First ed.). New York, NY: Dorling Kindersley. p. 48. ISBN 1 56458 295 7.
Gotch, A. F. (1995) [1979]. "Albatrosses, Fulmars, Shearwaters, and Petrels". Latin Names Explained. A Guide to the Scientific Classifications of Reptiles, Birds & Mammals. New York, NY: Facts on File. p. 190. ISBN 0 8160 3377 3.
Walker, T.R., Boyd, I.L., Mccafferty, D.J., Huin, N., Taylor, R.I., Reid, K. (1998) Seasonal occurrence and diet of leopard seals, Hydrurga leptonyx at Bird Island, South Georgia. Antarctic Science. 10(1): 75-81.